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The repairs to the High Flux Reactor in Petten, the Netherlands, are proceeding and the restart of the reactor is planned for the second half of August 2010.

There have been no safety incidents during the period and the radiation dose levels for internal and external employees have remained below the planned limits, according to the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) of the Netherlands.

The densimet radiation shielding has been fitted in and around the reactor vessel. “The preparations for installing the support frameworks to remove the concrete in the sub-pile room have started and are running to plan. The maintenance platforms have been removed and the dismantling of other pipework is proceeding as expected,” the NRG reported.

The reducers of the High Flux Reactor are located within a very thick concrete floor which must be removed to allow the repairs to be carried out.

The civil engineering phase of the repair was started April 9. “The plan is to be ready by May 6th for the next phase of the process: the repairs to the reducers. Once that is successfully completed, we will start the next ‘concrete part’ of the program: the application of new heavy concrete,” said Edwin Bach, civil sub project manager.